


You Are Missing From Me

by Pandalandalopalis



Series: In A Perfect Universe [4]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-26
Updated: 2017-12-26
Packaged: 2019-02-21 22:57:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13153785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pandalandalopalis/pseuds/Pandalandalopalis
Summary: Alternate Universe Summary: During the rise of the First Order, time travel is invented and the inventor goes back in time to stop Anakin Skywalker from turning to the dark side and therefore avoiding all the death he subsequently causes. Because of this, Palpatine is taken down before he can do any significant damage and the universe becomes a better, more peaceful place. Padme Amidala doesn't die in childbirth; her and Anakin raise Luke and Leia together and the Jedi Council makes an exception for Anakin because he is the ~Chosen One~. Because this change has been made through time travel, ~the Force~ (as an entity) considers this change to be unnatural, and it probes the original timeline in the backs of everyone’s minds like a half-remembered dream.Fic Summary: The Han and Leia (and Luke) version. Senator Leia is on a diplomatic mission and Jedi Padawan Luke accompanies her. Mishaps occur. Along the way, Leia and Luke meet a smuggler who feels very familiar.(Rated T for language.)





	You Are Missing From Me

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Christmas. (Shut up I know it says this was posted on the 26th - I tried okay? I posted this at like 1:30 am. I tried. But AO3 doesn't do formatting and I had to manually replace all the italicized words. It was a lot. Enjoy my suffering.)
> 
> ANYWHO - If you're not aware of the 'In A Perfect Universe' AU, that's okay because this is the first Han/Leia(/Luke) version, so you technically don't have to read any of the other fics for context, but if you want there's three Jyn/Cassian versions already written.
> 
> For those of you who ARE aware of the 'In A Perfect Universe' AU, this fic is set a few years before the Jyn and Cassian version.
> 
> I didn't mean for this to be so long. It just sort of happened. PLEASE ENJOY
> 
> WARNING: Partial spoilers for The Last Jedi

It's a common misconception that Leia Skywalker is a politician because she is just like her mother, the former Queen and Senator of Naboo, Padmé Amidala. This is wrong.

Both Luke and Leia were inducted into the Jedi training program at a young age; the two of them both showed promise in the ways of the Force. There was a problem, however, with Leia's training.

In the first six months she was shown to be outspoken, impulsive, and consistent in questioning of authority. In simple terms, she lacked the emotional restraint to be a Jedi. In even more simple terms — she took after her father, rather than her mother. But, in the end, it was _Leia's_ decision to stop her Jedi training and move on to something else.

With Anakin and Obi-Wan helping to train a young Luke (Obi-Wan, mostly; if there was even a chance that Luke was like Anakin at that age, he wanted Anakin's influence to be minimal), Padmé took it upon herself to train Leia in politics, to fight with words instead of lightsabers. And fight she did. While Padmé was an expert in debates by using logic and reason, Leia's tongue was sharp and her words biting. Padmé's end game was peace; Leia's was _justice_.

At the age of fifteen, Leia was elected as Queen of Naboo. She stayed in power for three years before coming to the realization that being a monarch of a planet was not her forté. There were too many rules, too many restraints on how she had to act. A year later, her mother retired and, at the age of nineteen, Leia Skywalker became the new Senator of Naboo.

Her first mission as the new Senator of Naboo would be taking her far from her home planet, almost to the Outer Rim. Because of the possible dangers of traveling such a long way, Padmé insisted that a Jedi accompany her, but the Council did not want to spare any Jedi.

Good thing there was a Jedi Padawan just eager for the opportunity to go on a mission by himself without his Master.

The mission was somewhat classified, so it was decided that Leia take a small ship, piloted by Luke himself, who was quite a skilled pilot as well as a Jedi (Padawan). Everything went smoothly. They got into the ship, Luke flew the ship off of Naboo and into the vastness of space, he hit the hyperdrive and they were on their way.

Everything went smoothly, of course, until it didn't.

The problems began when they finally dropped out of hyperdrive. Leia had been looking out the window and spotted a ship — quite an ugly-looking ship if she did say so herself.

"Luke," she prompted her brother, her eyes narrowing. He glanced over to where she was looking for a moment before continuing his piloting towards the planet the Senator of Naboo had business on.

"Don't worry about it, they shouldn't bother us," Luke said. Leia wasn't so sure. Her mother had told her that it would be unlikely to meet any other ships this far out by the Outer Rim.

 _BOOM_.

Their small ship shook, and Leia quickly scrambled to find something to hold on to. There was a loud beeping sound, like a warning.

"What was _that?_ " she exclaimed. The ship shook again.

"We're taking fire," Luke answered, a little bit of panic sneaking into his tone, although he managed to mask it quite well.

Leia looked out the window at the ugly ship she noticed before. It wasn't them. There was another ship, a different one.

"They're not shooting at us," Luke explained. "They're shooting at that Corellian freighter."

"They're _missing_ them, and hitting us!" Leia used her grasp on the walls to pull herself to the other end of the ship, where the blasters were. "Tell me how to use these!"

"Use what?" Luke turned around, his eyes growing wide. "Leia, no!" He spun back around when the ship shook again. "We don't want to antagonize them!"

"Screw that!" Leia yelled. "We're taking fire and we are going to defend ourselves!" With pure force of will, Leia managed to turn on the blasters and the aiming system. She shot a few times, getting a few good hits in.

The next shot knocked them off-course.

* * *

They had crash-landed into one of the moons that orbited the planet they were supposed to go to. Luckily, neither of them was hurt, but it would take some time to repair the ship before they could continue with their mission. For now, they were stuck.

"Stay on the ship while I do the repairs," Luke said, jumping out.

Well, fuck _that_.

Leia left the ship just as quickly. She wasn't sure what this moon was called, but the climate didn't seem to be too severe. Perhaps a little warm. As she took in the sights, that's when she noticed the ship. It was the ugly ship she had pointed out earlier, the one that had been taking fire. It must have either landed here on purpose or crashed like she and Luke had.

She was going to give them a piece of her mind.

She stalked over the vegetation and over to the Corellian freighter. When Luke finally noticed her, he dropped his tools and called out for her.

"Leia? Leia!" He scrambled for his lightsaber and trailed after her.

The hatch was open when Leia reached the ship. "Hey!" she called into the ship. She pounded her foot onto the metal of the hatch door. "HEY!"

"Yeah, I'm coming, _jeez_ , just hold on." The owner of the deep voice appeared at the top of the hatch before her, and her breath caught in her throat. She couldn't explain it, but there was this odd sense of familiarity surrounding him. He seemed briefly startled in the same way. The feeling faded quickly.

" _You_ —" she started, "You almost got us killed!"

He looked at her incredulously, stepping down the hatch to meet her. He had at least a foot on her, but Leia didn't flinch even once, cooly meeting his eyes with her own. " _I_ almost got you killed? Hey, sweetheart, I wasn't the one shooting at you, y'know!"

"Whoever was shooting at you was hitting us!"

"Well, I'm sorry, honey, I can't help that the person trying to shoot me down has horrible aim!"

Leia crossed her arms. "Well, maybe if you hadn't gotten yourself into trouble, we wouldn't be in this situation!"

His eyebrows raised and he copied her stance. "If I hadn't — What makes you think that it's _my_ fault that I'm in this mess, huh?" Behind the man, up at the top of the hatch, something large and furry cried out, making a string of noises Leia didn't understand. The man raised his hand and briefly checked behind him. "Just a minute, Chewie, I'm dealing with this _lady_ over here."

Leia lifted her chin with a defiant look in her eye and stepped closer to the man. "Do you think I'm an idiot? I didn't recognize this hunk of junk," she gestured to the Corellian freighter, "before, but—"

" _Hunk of junk?_ "

"—I do now. This is the Millennium Falcon, isn't it?"

The Wookie made more noises as he walked down the hatch. The man nodded. "You're damn right this is the Millennium Falcon," he said, matching her defiant tone.

"Which means, of course," she continued, "that makes you Han Solo. The _smuggler_."

He stilled and his eyes narrowed. "Just who the hell do you think you are?"

"Leia!" Luke's voice called from behind her.

"Leia Skywalker," she answered, hands on her hips. A look of pure annoyance passed over Han Solo's face. The Wookie made noises and Han groaned loudly.

" _Skywalker?_ " he repeated. "Well, that's just perfect. Y'know, I was starting to wonder if this day could get any better — now I have to deal with _Jedi!_ "

"Actually, I'm not a Jedi," Leia said steadily, "I'm a politician."

"A _politician_ , huh?" His tone was dipped in sarcasm. "Well, pardon me, that's _much_ better than dealing with a _Jedi_."

The Wookie made more noises and Han rolled his eyes. "Yeah, Chewie, I _know_ that politicians are worse than Jedi, I was being sarcastic."

Luke finally caught up to them, lightsaber in hand, although it wasn't turned on. He regarded Han warily. "Leia, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, thank you," she said, although she didn't sound so thankful. She crossed her arms again. "I'd like to see this man _try_ to lay a hand on me. Although I'm not too certain about his walking carpet."

The Wookie made noises in response and Han leaned into her space. "You've got a real mouth on you, you know that?"

She smiled. "So I've been told." Luke stepped between them.

"You're talking to the Senator of Naboo, so you might want to show her some respect," he said, his grip tight around his lightsaber hilt.

Han looked him up and down. "You must be _Luke_ Skywalker, right? Now I _know you're_ a Jedi."

"Rrrrrrr-ghghghghgh!" said the Wookie.

"Oh really?" Han asked as he turned to his furry friend. He gave Luke a smirk. "Well, Chewbacca here says you're only a Padawan." He glanced over at Leia. "You put your life in the hands of a _Padawan learner_?"

"I'm a quick learner—" Luke protested while Leia shoved in front of her brother saying, "My life is in no one's hands but my own."

"Right."

There was a pause, a minute of silence as Han and Leia stared each other down. Luke touched his sister's shoulder gently.

"Leia, we should get back to the ship. The sooner we can fix it, the sooner we can leave."

Chewbacca rumbled in his Wookie language, and by the tone it felt like he was saying something similar to Han. But neither Han nor Leia wanted to be the first to look away.

Luke pulled at her arm. "Leia," he said, a bit more sternly. Chewbacca made more noises.

Han bowed low until his head was level with Leia's, his eyes never leaving hers. "May we meet again, Your Excellency."

"Don't bet on it," Leia replied. Han gave her a crooked smile, then finally broke eye contact and turned to go back into his ship. Chewbacca titled his head to the side as he regarded Leia. He gurgled a few words, then followed his friend inside. Only when the hatch began to close did Leia turn around and begin the walk back to their small vessel.

Luke smiled to himself and shook his head as they walked. "I see why Obi-Wan says you make a good politician."

"Well, thank Obi-Wan for me."

"—And a bad Jedi," he continued. Leia looked at him from the side of her eye, eyebrows lowering curiously. "He says you take after our father, a lot."

"Our father is a Jedi," Leia spoke slowly.

"Yes, and Obi-Wan says he got into a lot of trouble when he was our age. Sometimes he says he's surprised he didn't do anything worse than getting married in secret."

Her eyes narrowed as she regarded her brother. "Do you have a point?"

Luke's smile grew. "My point is, Father was confrontational and impulsive, but he was also quick on his feet and fierce to obtain justice when he thought it necessary. He still is all of those things, if Obi-Wan has anything to say about it. What I'm saying is that those things might not work for a Jedi, but they do work for a politician. They work for you. People might think I'm like Father, but I'm not — _you_ are. People expect me to be the next 'Chosen One', but I think they're wrong. It's you. And you could change the world, if you wanted to." He paused as he looked up from the ground and at her. "I just — I wanted you to know that."

Leia didn't know what to say. She had never heard Luke say something so kind to her before. She was not someone who was prone to focus on compliments, but this meant a lot to her. "Thank you," she said in a gentle voice, different from her usually sharp tone. "You're a good brother, Luke. I love you."

He just smiled. "I know."

Luke kept walking, but Leia stopped dead. A sharp feeling poked deep into the back of her mind. There was a tight feeling in her chest, but she didn't know why. It suddenly felt hard to breathe. Her vision blurred.

When Luke turned around, concern washed over his face. "Leia?" He went over to her and put his hands on her shoulders. "Are you alright? You're crying."

"What?" Leia's hand fluttered to her cheek. He was right, it was wet. She couldn't explain it. All she knew was that it had something to do with that smuggler. Han Solo.

None of it made sense.

Luke hugged her and said nothing else.

* * *

"Luke, it's been _hours_ , it's getting dark," Leia said, sitting on top of the ship and watching Luke work on repairs.

Luke sighed and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. "It's getting too dark. There's not much more I can do until the sun comes back up."

Leia hugged herself. The temperature was dropping with the disappearance of the sun. "So what do we do, oh great and knowledgeable Jedi?"

There was a flash of annoyance in Luke's eyes, but he ignored her comment. "I suggest we find a place to sleep for the night and start again in the morning."

"And where do you suggest we sleep?"

Luke paused. ". . .I have an idea, but you're not going to like it."

Leia raised her eyebrows at him. "Okay?"

"Well, that Corellian freighter is more than big enough to—"

"No."

"Leia."

" _No_ , Luke."

* * *

The hatch of the Millennium Falcon opened to reveal a smug-looking Han Solo. His eyes scanned over the Padawan who was trying his best to look diplomatic, and the politician who was thoroughly annoyed but also freezing her hair buns off.

"Well, well, well, look who it is, Chewie," he said, calling his Wookie friend over.

Leia shivered, her breath billowing into white clouds at her lips. "Look, I don't like you."

"Great opener."

"But our ship is too small for us to sleep in. Your ship, as ugly as it is, _is_ big enough to sleep in."

The beginnings of a smirk played on Han's lips. "And?"

Leia's teeth gritted together. Luke spoke for her. "And we were hoping you could let us sleep on your ship."

Han crossed his arms as Chewbacca chattered. "I agree. I want to hear _her_ say it." He looked over to Leia. She met his eyes defiantly, her body tense.

"I hate you."

"I know."

Her heart squeezed painfully, that twinge of recognition returning. She sighed, loudly. "May we please stay the night on your ship?"

Han and Chewbacca exchanged a look. The Wookie shrugged and nodded. Han turned back to the siblings. "Alright. Fine. Welcome to the Millennium Falcon, Skywalkers."

* * *

_Age lines were etched into her skin, but she was no less respected. She was the General. They looked to her for guidance, for leadership._

_They were being followed. They were being_ attacked _._

_She felt him. Her blood. Her son. He was coming for her._

_She felt his thumb on the trigger. She felt the tears in his eyes. She felt his sharp intake of breath, the war inside of him._

_His thumb moved from the trigger._

_She felt relief._

_Then the others came._

_She had never felt so cold._

* * *

Leia gasped, her eyes opening. Her breathing was ragged; her heart was pounding. The dream felt more intense than any other dream she had ever had. She sat up on the couch she had been sleeping on. She looked across the room to see Luke, still sound asleep. She exhaled.

"Having nightmares, Your Excellency?"

She started at the sound of Han's voice. He had been sleeping in his chair in the cockpit; now he was leaning against the wall of the entrance, eyebrows raised at her, his eyes filled with sleep.

"Is that any of your business?" Her words still managed to have bite behind them despite her hushed tone.

"Ah, I get it. You were dreaming about me, right?"

Leia scoffed. "No." She was glad it wasn't a lie. She couldn't tell what was worse — her nightmare, or the idea of Han Solo guest-starring in one of her dreams.

Han smiled but didn't say anything more on the subject. He glanced over at Luke, then gestured to him. "Does hanging around Jedi annoy you at all?"

Leia shook her head. "No, of course not."

He gave her a look. "C'mon, sweetheart. With that sharp tongue of yours? Their whole balanced and emotionless peaceful shit must get on your nerves at least some of the time."

Her eyes narrowed as she held his gaze steadily. "Fine. Maybe sometimes."

He seemed satisfied enough with that answer, so he turned to go back into the cockpit.

"Wait," she said, surprising even herself. He faced her and looked at her curiously. "Why smuggling?"

He thought about the answer for a few moments. "Not everyone is born a Skywalker," he finally said, then retreated back to the cockpit with a quiet, small, "Good night."

* * *

In the morning, Leia spent her time on the Millennium Falcon while Luke worked on their small ship. "Do you have a communications system?" was the first thing she asked Han after Luke left.

"You need to call your boyfriend or something?"

Leia rolled her eyes, irritated. "We were in the middle of a diplomatic mission when we were shot down. Someone is bound to be looking for us. I'd like to inform them that we're not dead."

"It's broken. Sorry." He headed to the hatch. She followed him out of the ship.

"Can you fix it?"

He abruptly turned and she almost slammed into him. She looked all the way up at him, hands on her hips. "Among the fifty other things we have to fix before we get off of this moon? I think the flying apparatuses take precedence."

"Your Wookie is working on that. Can't you take a moment and repair it?"

He considered it for a moment. "No."

"And why not?"

"Because it annoys you so much." He continued walking to the other side of the ship. She followed him, a fire in her eyes and knives in her words, frustrated to absolutely no end.

"Why you. . .stuck-up. . .half-witted. . .scruffy-looking. . .nerf herder!"

He whipped around, looking insulted. "Who's scruffy-lookin'?"

They both paused, like they'd been struck by something. Leia's eyes were wide. Han was speechless for once, his eyebrows knitting together. Their gaze was broken by the sound of Chewbacca chortling; they looked over to see him hanging off the side of the ship, as he had been making repairs.

Han looked annoyed. "Laugh it up, Fuzzball."

That sharp feeling poked her again in the back of her mind. She felt overwhelmed all of the sudden. She turned and started walking, needing to get away from Han Solo and his strange aura of familiarity.

"Hey! Where are you going?" she heard him call out after her. She ignored him and kept walking. She assumed he lost interest when no one came after her.

She walked and walked, unable to get the feeling out of her head, out of her heart. She didn't know what to think about it.

She didn't get the chance. She stopped when she noticed a ship in the distance. It wasn't Han's, and it wasn't Luke's.

She felt the cold metal of a gun against her head, and she knew she was in trouble.

* * *

Han was thinking about the strange encounter he had just had with Leia, when Chewie's grumble interrupted his thoughts.

"Rrrrr-ghghgh-rrrrrrr."

"You fixed the ship?"

"Ghghgh-rr."

"Great!"

"Han."

The smuggler sighed and turned around to face the blond-headed Jedi Padawan with the worried expression. " _Yes?_ "

"Where's Leia?"

Han leaned back in his chair. "How should I know? She walked off ten minutes ago. She didn't go back to your ship?"

"No." He seemed agitated. "You just let her walk off? On a moon she's never been to?"

Han put his hands up. "Hey, I don't control her. I sincerely doubt any man can." He smirked. "Not that I won't try. If anyone has a chance, it's a gorgeous man such as I."

Luke ignored that last comment. "I have to go look for her." He hurried off of the ship.

"Hey Hotshot! Wait a second!" Han followed him down the hatch. "Look, as infuriating as your sister is, she's smart. She'll find her way back; just don't do anything stupid, kid."

"Do you see that?" Luke pointed up at the horizon. Han's eyes narrowed.

"It's a ship."

Luke took off towards his own small vessel. Han called out after him, annoyed.

 _Skywalkers_.

He followed the young Jedi to his ship. "What are you doing?"

Luke pulled out his lightsaber. "That ship has got Leia. I have to go after her."

Han shook his head. "Calm down, kid, there's no way she's on that ship. She's probably wondering around the moon somewhere."

" _No_ ," Luke emphasized, "She's on that ship. I _know_. I can feel it."

Han's eyebrows raised. "You can _feel_ it," he repeated in a deadpanned tone.

"Look, it's a Force thing, I don't have time to explain it, we have to—"

" _We?_ " He shook his head, then clapped Luke on the shoulder. "Look, kid, there is no 'we'. There's a me and Chewie, and there's a you and Her Excellency."

Luke looked confused. "What?"

"Good luck on the rescue, kid, but I'm afraid I've got to get going." He started his way back to the Falcon. Luke hurried over to stand in his way.

"You can't just _leave_. We have to save Leia!"

"Like I said, no 'we'." He tried to keep walking, but the young Jedi stopped him.

"My ship still isn't fixed yet. Yours is. If you leave now, who knows what'll happen to her!"

Han sighed. "Look, I'm sorry about your sister, but I don't have time to save some senator, alright? Now if you'll excuse me—" He pushed past Luke and continued to the Falcon.

"Don't do this!" Luke called after him as he walked up the hatch.

"Already done!" Han called back, then pressed the button to close the door.

* * *

Leia watched the moon slowly shrink as the ship flew further and further from it. She stood with her arms crossed as a man held a gun to her head, essentially keeping her immobilized. Her gaze turned from the window to the captain of the ship. He looked every bit of the cartoonish, mustache-twirling villain. In any other situation Leia might have laughed, but she was much too pissed off at the moment to do so.

"Would you mind explaining to me exactly _why_ you've kidnapped me, sir?" her sentence was polite, but her tone was cutting.

The captain sat in a chair, idly playing with a knife in his hands. _Could this man be possibly any more stereotypical?_ He looked up at her and gave her a sly smile. "Well, my lovely lady, originally I wasn't planning on going after you. I was after the smuggler, Han Solo. He owes me six million Credits."

Leia felt like she should have expected this would be Han Solo's fault. _If I ever see that man again, I'll_ — Her thoughts stalled. "Wait," she said. "It was you!" She stepped forward. The man with the gun grabbed her arm and she shoved him off. "You shot my ship down!"

He sighed. "Yes, I'm afraid that was one of my men flying that ship; not the best pilot. Don't worry. He's been. . .removed. As it happens, the ship was too damaged to follow Solo to the moon. I believe I have you to thank for that?"

Leia tilted her chin up. "It appears I'm a better shot than your pilot."

The captain's mouth quirked in twisted amusement. "So it seems. Anyhow, the reinforcements I sent were supposed to collect Solo, but instead we found _you_." He pressed a button on his chair, and a hologram of Leia appeared before her eyes.

_(Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope.)_

The stabbing feeling in the back of her mind returned, if for only a moment. She did her best to force it down and ignore it. She instead read the scroll of words under her hologram — _'Senator Leia Skywalker of Naboo'_.

"I'm betting someone is going to pay a pretty price for your return, Senator."

* * *

Han could see the other ship descending on the nearest planet as the Millennium Falcon flew from the moon and into space. He made sure to fly in the opposite direction.

"Rrrrrrrrrrrrrr-gh!"

Han rolled his eyes. "Don't give me that, Chewie. Senator Skywalker isn't our responsibility, alright? We've got our own problems."

"Ghghghghghgh."

"Why don't you make yourself useful and check on the hyperdrive, huh?"

Chewbacca rumbled in a exasperated tone, but complied with the request and left the cockpit.

Han thought about her for a moment. She was loud and brash and she obviously didn't like him — but there was something about her. Something he couldn't explain. Something familiar. A few times she had looked at him like. . .he wasn't sure what it was. It was sort of like how people look when they find something they had lost, something they had never expected to see again. Except she didn't know something was missing. Han concluded that she'd likely rather it had  _stayed_ missing.

He wasn't sure where he had come up with that analogy. He didn't understand any of it.

Last night he had acted like the Senator had woken him up with her nightmare-slash-dream-that-was-totally-about-him; that was a lie. He had had a nightmare of his own.

 _He stood on the bridge platform, afraid, determined. Not afraid for himself, afraid for_ him _. The man standing across from him._

_His blood. His son._

_He was pleading for him, begging for him to turn to the Light. To come home. To stop all the bad that he was doing. He thought he was convincing him. He thought he would get his son back. He thought of Leia, and the promise he made to her._

_Perhaps the old Han Solo would have expected the lightsaber in his chest._

_He had never felt so cold._

Han had heard her heavy breathing when he had woken, he himself in a distressed state as a result of his own dream. He had only gone to check on her to distract himself from the leftover imprint of the nightmare. It made no sense, the dream, but he had never felt anything so vivid. He wasn't a man easily scared, but this?

This was different.

Han's knuckles began to turn white as he tightened his grip on the steering. He thought about the Jedi Padawan he had left behind. That kid was just as curious as his sister. He held the same sort of familiarity she had. Han felt a sudden twinge of guilt for leaving him behind.

 _Not your responsibility, Han. Remember that_ , he reminded himself. His teeth ground together.

"Oh, for the love of—" He gave an exasperated sigh. "Chewie! Get in here! We're turning around."

* * *

Leia hated being a damsel in distress. She hated it with every fibre of her being. Here she was sitting, in a locked cell, all by herself with nothing to do to help herself. It was infuriating. She understood her mother's rule that 'Senators shouldn't carry weapons' but honestly, _fuck_ that rule right now, because she could really use a gun, or even a knife would do.

As it turned out, she didn't need one, anyway.

She could feel Luke's presence before she heard the sound of guns firing and a lightsaber whizzing around. She darted into his arms the second the door opened.

"Leia!" he squeezed her tightly, then pulled her back to look her over. “Are you okay? Did they hurt you?”

She shook her head, smiling. “No, I’m fine. Luke, how did you get in here? I mean, you’re a good Jedi, but you _are_ only a Padawan, and I’m sure I was well-guarded—” She was interrupted by the sounds of more gunfire. Leia looked over Luke’s shoulder, hearing footsteps coming to the room.

It was the smuggler. Han Solo.

“You,” Leia said in a disbelieving tone. Han holstered his gun and bowed.

“Your Excellency.”

She turned to Luke, who was grinning. “He came to help. Our ship was still broken, but Han’s was fixed already. I mean, he _did_ leave me behind at first, but he came back! We both came to rescue you.”

Leia looked at Han incredulously, moving past Luke and out the door to stare him down (as best she could, being a one whole foot shorter than him). “You came to rescue me.” There was a question in the statement.

“Don’t get excited,” he replied, “I’m only here for the reward money.”

She rolled her eyes. “Of course.” Suddenly, she reached for the gun at Han’s hip, pulled it from its holster, and shot behind him. He whipped around to see a man falling over. He looked back at Leia with slightly wide eyes, one eyebrow raised. She grinned at him. “Let’s go.”

The three of them ran down the hallway. Leia assumed that they knew where they were going, because they had came in this way, but they, apparently, did not. They ended up in a dead end. Ten men were on them within an instant.

Luke deflected lasers with his lightsaber while Han shot his gun. “What do we do?” Han shouted over the sound of fire.

Leia looked around, trying to find something, and quickly. When she saw it, it sparked a twinge of recognition inside of her. “Here’s our answer!”

Han glanced over to what she was pointing at. “Oh, _no_ —”

She grabbed his gun and blasted a hole in the grate. “Into the garbage chute, flyboy!”

* * *

“Oh, yeah, _great_ idea!” Han said sarcastically as they waded through watery gunk filled with trash at every turn. Leia pounded at the door.

“It’s stuck!” She looked around. There was some kind of electronic pad next to the exit. She started pressing buttons. Nothing happened. “One of you, help me with this.”

Han was closest to her, so he walked over best he could in the thigh-high waste and took a look at the controls. “Shouldn’t be _too_ hard,” he said, and began pressing buttons like she had.

Luke was looking around the room in some sort of fascination. “This feels weird,” he said.

“Yeah, standing in garbage’ll do that to you,” Han replied.

“No, no, I mean. . .I feel like this has happened before.”

Han and Leia’s heads both snapped to the Jedi Padawan, then they slowly turned to face one another. They said nothing. They went back to the control pad.

“No? Just me?” Luke shrugged. “Alright. Just strange, is all. Really strange.” He scanned the room once more. “ _Really_ strange.”

“Yeah, we get it, kid, it’s strange.” Han kept on pressing buttons until the room jerked suddenly. The walls started closing in.

“What did you do?!” Leia shouted at him.

“I didn’t do anything!” he yelled back. “It must be automatic!” He looked to Luke. “Alright Jedi, this is where you prove yourself: What do we do?”

“Uh, um—” He frantically searched for something. “Help me with this!” He attempted to lift a piece of wood. Han helped him, and they put it between the closing walls, trying to keep them from closing all the way. The piece of wood splintered and snapped.

They were starting to panic now. Luke was desperately trying to think of something while Han was trying to lift Leia up so she could try to reach the chute they fell out of. It wasn’t working; it was too high up.

Luke suddenly had an idea. He turned on his lightsaber, then struck it right through the control panel. The walls stopped, and the door opened.

The three of them laughed and shrieked in relief. Leia wrapped her arms around Han without thinking about it. He hugged her back and lifted her up, glad to not be dead. Glad that _she_ wasn’t dead.

“Let’s get out of here!” Luke exclaimed, and Han and Leia agreed, running out after him.

* * *

They managed to get out of there and back to the Millennium Falcon without any more serious problems. Han agreed to take them back to Naboo (although he argued that the reason was for the reward money). As soon as they touched down, Padmé rushed to Leia and Luke and wrapped her arms around the two of them.

“Are you two okay? I was so worried!”

“We’re fine, Mother,” Leia replied. “I’m sorry about the mission. There were some complications.”

“The mission? Oh don’t worry about that, I took care of it.” Padmé finally let go of the two of them, then saw Han somewhat awkwardly leaning against his ship. “Hello.”

Han’s face perked up. He gave her a tense smile. “Hey.”

“You helped my children?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“Thank you,” Padmé said sincerely. Han nodded. “Obi-Wan will be here soon to pick up Luke, but Leia will be staying, and my husband is here for dinner. You should join us.”

“Ah.” Han put up his hands, shaking his head. “I don’t think so.”

“It’s the least we can do.”

He shook his head again. “Thanks, but I, ah, I should be going.”

Luke went up to Han and shook his hand. “Thanks, Han.”

“No problem, kid,” he said with a smile. “Stay out of trouble, okay?”

Luke laughed. “Yeah. Okay.”

Han wandered over to Leia next, still towering over her. There was a shadow of a smile on her face, like she was trying not to show it. “Stay a pain in people’s ass, alright?”

Her mouth twisted. “You’re infuriating.”

The corners of his lips quirked upwards. “I think you secretly like it.”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re delusional.” Her hands reached for the lapels of his vest and she pulled him down so his face was level with hers. He thought maybe she was going to hit him. Instead, she pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Thank you,” she said.

When she let go, Han straightened to his regular height. He gave her a grin. “Are you going to miss me?”

She smiled a little. “Don’t bet on it.”

**Author's Note:**

> Dedicated to Carrie Fisher <3 Love and miss you, Space Mom


End file.
